Percy's 17th Birthday
by iggle07
Summary: Percy Jackson/ Annabeth Chase it starts out fluffy, gets smutty, and then sad. You have been warned. There's a better summary that gives background at the top of the fic.


This fic takes place after what has not yet been written.

My generic prediction as to how the series will end: The gang travels to Greece and fight their way to the mortal side of the doors. Percy and Annabeth make it though Tartarus and are able to close the gates and escape back into the mortal world. The reunited gang then goes to face Gaea in a glorious battle where Frank's stick ends up burning and he dies. After the battle they return to the states and settle the differences between the Roman and Greek camps. Hazel voices that she doesn't belong in this world and chooses to return to the underworld so she can be with Frank.

Where the fic picks up: Most of the Romans have returned to their camp along with some curious Greeks. The camp is settling in for the fall and many of the campers have chosen to go home to see their families after the insanity of the past year.

Summary: It starts of fluffy, gets smutty, and then sad. Percy/ Annabeth

It was a lazy Wednesday afternoon at Camp Half-Blood and there wasn't much to do since Chiron decided to give everyone a break while the nymphs repaired the camp and the campers finished healing. Annabeth was happy to finally spend some time alone with Percy and not in a "fight or die" scenario. It's surprising how often those moments occurred since they started dating exactly a year ago.

She could remember their first real kiss in the ocean just like it was yesterday and she got giddy just thinking about it. Today wasn't just special because it was their anniversary, but it was also Percy's 17th birthday. Annabeth knew that Percy didn't like big celebrations and after the ordeal with Gaea, the fighting camps, and the week-long Roman "celebration of unity" no one was in the mood for a big party. Annabeth still felt like he needed something special for his birthday so she planned a small surprise party for Percy at dinner complete with cake, streamers, and camp shenanigans.

Now if only she could think of something special to celebrate their anniversary. Soon she was lost and thought and didn't notice when Percy ran up behind her and poked her in the sides. Annabeth squealed and turned to face those endless sea-green eyes and the scruffy hairdo of her beloved. "What was that for!?"

"I wanted to surprise you. I guess it worked." Then the wrapped his arms around Annabeth and pulled her in for a kiss slow enough to not overexcite the emotions, but hard enough to show Annabeth how much he loved her.

"Happy Birthday Percy"

"Happy Anniversary Annabeth"

"You remembered!"

"How could I forget!? That was a pretty epic kiss."

Annabeth suddenly yearned for the tapestry Arachne had woven of their first real kiss. That would have been the perfect gift for Percy if the sun hadn't destroyed it back in Rome and she doubted Arachne would be willing to weave her another one.

Percy noticed that he was losing her to her thoughts. That was the one thing he wanted to avoid today. Today was about them and he was determined to keep it that way. "Annabeth I have something to show you."

He took her hand and they ran all the way across camp to Percy's cabin. At the back of his cabin was a pier that over-looked the ocean and on the pier was a picnic blanket complete with wicker basket and extra cuddle blankets.

"Oh Percy, its perfect." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and then ran over to the blanket where she plopped down. Percy got lost in her curls as she bounded over to the blanket and only snapped out of it when Annabeth said "Care to join me?" and patted the empty blanket space next to her.

"So what's in the basket?"

"Whatever you want." Annabeth looked confused until he pulled out two gold plates and chalices.

"ahhh. Perhaps some of my wisdom is rubbing off on you."

He responded with a glare that she parried with a smile that ended in a long kiss. They stayed that way wrapped in each others' arms kissing until her stomach rumbled.

Percy reluctantly broke away with a small laugh and a big smile and said "Time for lunch." Annabeth groaned and for the first time in her life she wished she were a god so she didn't have to depend on food to survive and could just spend the rest of her life kissing Percy. That thought was soon replaced when Percy ordered chicken nuggets and blue french fries.

"mmm food" and she stole one of his fries before ordering herself a quesadilla and chocolate pudding.

After eating they spent the next few hours in each others' arms laughing and joking with the occasional make-out break. Things started heating up as their latest make-out had toppled them into the ocean.

Annabeth broke away from him long enough to gasp "Why don't we" "move this" "into" "your cabin?"

Percy responded by making a jet of water lift them out of the ocean, over their picnic, and onto Percy's bed. Percy laid on his back and Annabeth had her legs straddled on either side of his hips.

"Better?"

"Much."

Percy hadn't really been focusing on his powers when they were at the bottom of the ocean and Annabeth had ended up soaking the back of her outfit.

"You're wet."

Annabeth gasped because their heated make-out had done more than just wet her clothes. Luckily it only took her a few seconds to realize he was talking about her clothes and not her other little problem. Since the problem was entirely his fault she figured she might as well make his life as complicated as hers.

"I guess I am" she said with a cheeky grin "I should probably take them off then" and she whipped off her shirt revealing a blue lacy bra one of the Aphrodite campers insisted she get the other day when they went into the city to see how the mortals were coping post-global-god-war.

Percy's eyes turned into saucers as he fully appreciated the lacy bra and all of the training and battles Annabeth had faced since she was a kid. He leaned up and began to lightly kiss each of her cuts, bruises, and scars.

He was closer, but she still wasn't getting what she wanted so she started moaning and grinding on him to make her goal glaringly obvious for the boy who must have literally had seaweed brains. He kissed her harder and more feverishly and his hands began to roam the newly revealed contours of her body.

He ran his fingers over the clasp of her bra a couple times silently asking for Annabeth's consent. After the third pass she ground down on him so hard it elicited a deep moan from Percy. He unclasped her bra revealing her breasts. They were perfect.

They were probably around a size C because they drooped a little, but not enough for them to lose their shape. She had a small mole on her right boob; right at the bottom like it was trying to hide. Percy felt a surge of love for this wonderful, beautiful, amazing girl and flipped them over so now he was on top. He immediately focused his attention on her right breast and the mole as his hand massaged her left breast. He licked around her entire right breast like and ice cream cone, flicked her semi-hard nipple a few times and then places his mouth over her entire areola.

Meanwhile his free hand wandered over her ripped stomach, along the waistline of her shorts, grasping her bum, down the leg, and up her thigh with a tauntingly light trail of his fingertips that would have made her giggle had she not been so turned on from his other ministrations. By the time he switched to her other breast she swore his hand had traveled her body more than any man, dwarf, elf, or hobbit had ever traveled Middle Earth.

All the glory of Mount Olympus could not compare to this feeling of making her writhe in pleasure as his hands roamed her body and his mouth played with her breasts. Licking, nipping, sucking, and touching her took all his focus and he didn't register the knot building in his stomach or the choppy waves rising outside his cabin as he finally went up to capture her mouth with his.

Playtime was over and now it was her turn for some fun and suddenly Annabeth was back on top and Percy's shirt was on the floor next to hers. She bent down and kissed him lightly and murmured "my turn" as she sat back on his evident arousal. She smoothed her hands up and down his fit body and then leaned in to nibble his ear, kiss his jaw, lick his collarbone, and slowly make her way down covering every inch of his chest with her mouth. By the time she reached his navel Percy was squirming and ready to burst out of his pants. Her mouth continued to torment him as her hands undid his belt, opened his pants, and released his penis.

Annabeth was shocked to look at it. The way some of the other campers talked about penises, she thought it would have looked like her favorite celebrity or something. But it was this scrawny, wrinkly thing that looked thoroughly disgusting. She decided to avoid it for the time being by completely removing his pants and boxers and throwing his blankets over the end of his bed so she'd stop getting tangled in them. Down by his feet she curled up and just sat there a moment staring at him. All of him.

She began looking at his feet. They were dirty because he had taken up the habit of walking around barefoot to taunt Gaea. His legs were strong from all the running and swimming he did daily to keep up his endurance for the next quest which was bound to come any day now. They'd been on so many quests she was thinking of re-naming Camp Half-Blood to Camp No Rest. Then there it was. The penis. It didn't look as bad from this angle. It was about 7 inches long and probably 2 in diameter. It still looked gross, but it turned into the kind of gross thing that you want to touch and discover so it's not so scary.

Percy noticed the absence of her touch and his face changed from pleasure to panic in about 5.8 picoseconds.

"You okay?" He looked at her curled up at the foot of his bed. No she wasn't okay.

"We… we don't have to do this. We can stop right now if that's what you want."

"Shut up Seaweed Brain I'm thinking."

If anyone was going to stop and think in the middle of foreplay, it was going to be Annabeth. He decided to crawl towards her and sit cross-legged in front of her and hold her hand until she decided what she wanted to do next.

"Kiss me."

Percy obliged and after a couple light kisses her pulled her onto his bare lap so her jean shorts were rubbing against his increasingly erect penis. Annabeth noticed and she conquered her initial anxieties by tracing little patterns around the tip of his cock with the fingers.

Percy's mind went wild. If she kept doing that he wouldn't last much longer. That was about the last thing he wanted so he did the only rational thing.

He picked her up by her hips and flopped her up by the head of his bed. She landed with a laugh and he crawled up to her so he could blow raspberries on her tummy and his torso rested at the apex of her thighs.

He loved hearing her laugh and wanted to spend the rest of the day listening to that sound, but he didn't have much of a choice when she pulled him up for a kiss. She pushed him away for a second to say "thanks" and then pulled him right back where he belonged, against her. Their passion was once again on the rise. After a few minutes of kissing and Percy's mischievous hands trailing light pathways along her inner thighs she pushed his head down her body until it reached the point where all of her energy had pooled into one giant knot that she needed him to undo.

He yanked off her shorts and barley registered her matching blue thong as there was something even more important behind it. He pushed it aside, accidentally ripping it off her, and his only thought was "man, she's beautiful." He dove in face first and began exploring her to find out what she liked and what she didn't like. He gauged his success by the amount she either pushed his head to her body or tugged on his hair to get him to stop. Even though the tugging was her version of "stop," it was a major turn-on that made him want to dig into her and explore her further, but every time he obeyed her request. By the time he pulled his mouth away and inserted his middle finger she was wetter than the ocean and she arched her back, leaning into him as much as she could begging him for more.

Percy wanted to dive into his beautiful girlfriend, but he remembered the talk Paul had given him only a couple of days ago when he visited his mom. He could almost hear Paul's voice saying "girls are delicate. One wrong move and it's over." "You should always make sure you can fit 3 fingers in her before you enter to make sure you don't hurt her. Also make sure you use lube so you don't get drag half way through and a condom to prevent babies."

Annabeth was shaking like crazy as Percy moved his one finger in and out of her while his tongue played with her clitoris. He tried twisting and curling his finger different ways to see how she'd react. It was all good so he added another finger. He felt Annabeth completely contract around his fingers and he thought he broke her until he noticed that there was more cum than ever covering his hand. He licked his hand clean and kissed his way up her body as she came back down from her first orgasm. He kissed her for a while and after a few minutes she said "That was brilliant!" as she reached her hand down to lightly stroke him. "Ready for round two?"

Percy quickly grabbed the box of condoms and lube Paul had bought him. He put the condom on and Annabeth wiggled around so she could apply the lube and give him a hand job before the penetration they were both desperately seeking.

Percy hadn't realized that while he was focusing on Annabeth his erection had grown to the point where it was twitching and throbbing waiting for her.

"Ready?" All Percy could do was nod and Annabeth's hands were on him. She was touching him and it felt so good he never wanted it to stop, but he knew something better would happen after she let go.

She was the one in power now. It was almost like she could feel the entire power of the sea aching towards her begging her for release. She wanted to keep him like this with his thighs pulsating and his hips thrusting up into her grip. She could feel every vein popping out, pumping more blood into him as she griped him tighter and smoothly twisted her hands. She liked stroking him, just touching him got her excited. She could feel herself getting wet again, worse than the first time which she guessed was better. After a few minutes of covering him in lube and getting him hard she was able to gasp "that should be good." She leaned back and spread her legs, giving him full access. Percy used his fingers again. One, then two, and the golden number three. He spread them out and curled them up making sure that she was stretched enough for him to enter her.

"Ready?"

"aaaa yes"

"sure?"

"yes"

"you want this?"

"GOD DAMNIT PERCY!"

"Just wanted to make sure" and with that her pecked a kiss on her knee and entered her completely.

"you good?"

"gimme a second"

He continued to kiss her and tease her with his fingers as they made their way around her body and over her clit. She began to relax around him and he could feel her getting wetter.

"okay"

"okay?"

"OKAY!"

It began with Percy on top thrusting into Annabeth. She felt so good. The way she bucked her hips in rhythm with his. How she tilted every few thrusts to make him hit the right spots. She was perfect and her warm cum splashed against his balls every time he thrust making it even better. Then he pulled her legs up changing the angle and giving them a whole new experience. He accidentally went too far and they ended up somersaulting so Percy was upside down gripping his head board and Annabeth was standing on his bed. He'd popped out of her during the flip, but she was easily able to insert him once again and ride him so hard he saw spots dancing in front of him. Although that might have been some of her cum dripping out of her as she worked her hips up and down him.

That didn't last long and Percy fell to the side rolling off the bed taking one of his pillows and Annabeth with him to the ground. He found himself placed behind Annabeth as she crawled into a doggie style pose. She moaned the loudest here because he was able to kiss along her spine as his hands massaged her breasts and clit. As much as Annabeth enjoyed doggie style she wanted to take the reins back. She pulled herself off him, turned around, and pushed Percy's back against his bed frame so he was squatting against it using it as a back support. She mounted him like a mountain climber on Everest and this time she was much more successful at staying on. She liked getting to see his face contort with pleasure each time she thrust down on him. She also enjoyed kissing Percy because that made the whole experience feel less like sex and more like they were intertwining their souls. They moaned into each other just enjoying being close until Percy's legs gave out and they ended back on the bed. He was back on top and ready to finish this round as the room had gotten darker with the setting sun and dinner time approached. A dozen or so more thrusts and she was out for the count. As she enclosed around him Percy lost control to the orgasm and felt everything release.

What Percy didn't realize was he didn't just release his orgasm. He released the sea and a 15ft. tidal wave had set course for the camp. It was sure to soak everyone and everything and destroy all the rebuilding the nymphs had done. Luckily Percy noticed when he opened his eyes to find a catfish staring at him. While he was in his cabin. Naked. Still inside of Annabeth. Who was also naked.

He pushed the catfish and the water back into the ocean and ordered it to calm. Unfortunately he was a little too late and half the cabins had been soaked.

Percy could hear scared, drenched campers, satyrs, and nymphs running to the ocean and more importantly his cabin where Annabeth was still out of it from her orgasm. He did the only logical thing and pulled his blankets back over the bed to cover them from head to toe. Coach Hedge and Chiron were the first to barge into Percy's cabin.

Coach Hedge came in swinging his bat yelling "DIE! DIE! DIEEEE!"

"Percy are you all right? Is there something attacking the camp from the sea? A sea monster? Another incident with the gods?"

"Coach stop! No there's nothing attacking the camp. I just lost control for a minute." Percy was praying Coach didn't notice the naked Annabeth laying next to him in his bed. Unfortunately Chiron wasn't so thick.

"Annabeth please come out. I want to see your face." It was hard to tell who was redder; Coach or Annabeth. It didn't help matters that the other campers and satyrs were now crowding in behind Coach and Chiron.

"Yes Chiron?"

"Do you by any chance know why Percy might have lost control and caused a 15ft tidal wave to nearly destroy the camp?"

"Uhhh…" SURE! NOW is when her supposed wisdom decides to take a holiday!

Coach snapped out of his paralyzed anger and went to charge the bed. Luckily, Percy's brain was still functioning and he summoned a small blob of water for Coach to endlessly run in. "JACKSON!" Annabeth shrunk back into Percy's bed and prayed they'd forget about her.

"Percy please let him go."

"No! Not until he swears on the River Styx to not attack us."

"Coach?"

"NEVER! I WILL WRING YOU NECK OUT! THAT IS NOT WHAT I TRAINED YOU FOR!" He kept going and turned into an angry elevator music soundtrack for what transpired next.

Annabeth screamed and reappeared out of the covers. "THERE'S SOMETHING MOVING!"

"probably a fish"

"YOU HAVE FISH IN YOUR BED!? GET IT OUT NOOOWWW!"

Percy used the water that had soaked his bed to create a small fishy pool and then tossed it into the ocean.

"better?"

"ewewewewewewewewewew"

"I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD JACKSON! NO GETTING OUT OF IT THIS TIME! ETERNAL DAMNATION!"

Coach's threats ceased when another large wave approached the camp. Everyone looked at me like it was some-how my fault. "I swear it's not me this time!"

"Then stop it!" Chrion ordered. The camp had been through enough lately and he couldn't afford to be blamed for more damage than had already been caused.

The wave fought against him. There was no stopping it.

Then it stopped all on its own at the edge of Percy's pier.

Out of the wave stepped Poseidon, Percy's father.

"Hi, dad." He was met with a glare.

"Everyone leave. I wish to speak with my son in private."

Percy felt Annabeth squirm next to him. "Um… Poseidon sir? Do you mind if I stay as I don't know where this idiot washed my clothes away."

"Yes you may stay. I wish to speak with you as well. Everyone else leave us." No one moved. "Now!" satyrs, nymphs, and campers scattered. Chiron bowed and said "Please remember that he is your son and still only a child." Chiron left. Poseidon turned on Percy and spoke in a deep voice laced with tension "Do you know what you have done?"

"I wasn't paying attention and lost control." Poseidon looked like he was waiting for a better answer. "I now know that I need to learn how to control myself at all times."

"Do you have any idea how powerful that wave was?"

"It was only 15ft high. Hardly a splash when compared to some of yours."

"No. It was 50ft high. It only appeared to be 15 because I was pulling it out on the other end." He paused, frustrated. "I should have been able to pull all of it out." His face aged about 20 years as he looked up to Percy's eyes.

He had made a wave even his father couldn't control. How was that possible? His dad was literally King of the Ocean! What was even scarier was the fact that he did it without even trying. "I… I… I'm sure you're just tired from the wars against the Titians."

"That wasn't it."

"okay were you far away? Not together? That could have affected it." Annabeth's thoughts had been going at warp speed since Poseidon appeard. Now she knew why. Zeus had sent Poseidon to kill Percy! Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy and held him close as Poseidon's face began to contort into rage and doubt.

"Poseidon, please don't. I know he can learn control. Just please." Tears sprung to Annabeth's eyes and Percy could feel them starting to trail down his back. She kept muttering "Please." "I love him." "Please."

A sleepy, tired feeling began to wash over Percy and he groaned trying to stay awake. "I don't feel so good. Can we talk after a nap?" and with that he was out cold. Annabeth put his head on the pillow and curled the blankets around him protectively.

"There may not be anything I can do now." He looked sorrowfully at his favorite demigod child and the girl of Athena that had earned his affections. Must be one of Aphrodite's, he thought to himself. "He has challenged and questioned Zeus too many times and now he has just proved himself a threat without even trying."

Annabeth wept into Percy's shoulder. After a few minutes she was able to calm down enough to gasp between tears and hiccups "One more night." "Please." "Can I have" "just" "one more" "night" "with him?" "It's his birthday." "If you ever loved him" "please" "just give him" "one more night."

Looking at the girl wrapped around Percy, tears sprung to Poseidon's eyes. He hadn't cried since the death of Khrysomallos, his beloved golden flying ram whose fleece was now being used to protect Percy.

Percy.

He couldn't bear the thought of losing his most precious son just because Zeus was having another temper tantrum. He fell to his knees and wept over the slumbering body of his sacrifice to Zeus to prevent yet another war between sea and sky. He was tired of always relenting to Zeus just because Zeus was older. He'd asked too much this time.

Annabeth came out of her sorrow long enough to drape her arms over Poseidon as they held the boy they loved so much.

There was a loud crack like thunder that emanated from the central area between the cabins. Poseidon looked up to see Zeus, Athena, and Aphrodite approaching. He wiped his eyes and stood ready to greet them and fight if they got too close to Percy. "Hello brother. What brings you here?"

"Is the boy dead yet?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to kill him."

Annabeth looked up in surprise and gave Poseidon a smile so big it hurt her lips. Anger flashed across Zeus's face and just as he was about to fry the entire cabin Aphrodite touched his arm to calm him.

"That boy has lived longer than he should have. It's time to dispose of him."

At that Annabeth leapt out of bed, grabbed riptide, uncapped him and said "Over my dead body." She was painfully reminded that she was completely naked as Zeus sent a warning breeze towards her brushing against her bare skin.

Poseidon grew seaweed from his fingertips that he fashioned into a plain strapless dress to cover her.

That was crossing the line for Aphrodite "That simply won't do!" Annabeth could feel the seaweed crawling around her body until it completely covered her boobs and butt areas, it looped like a halter around her neck and there was a swirly seaweed design crisscrossing over her mid-section. Aphrodite lined the neck piece with pearls and patterned the solid seaweed with fish. "Much better! THAT is how you make a dress."

Poseidon and Annabeth just looked at each other exasperated. Poseidon sighed and said "Thank you for that very important lesson. I will try to remember that next time when I'm trying to simply cover my son's girlfriend."

"There won't be a next time. You won't have a son much longer."

Aphrodite slapped Zeus. "Don't you DARE! Do you have any idea how hard I've worked getting them together!? You are NOT breaking them up now!"

Athena chuffed at Aphrodite and said "Work!? Oh please! My daughter could tell from his first performance that he was the best demigod to align herself with. She was naturally drawn to him without your assistance."

Annabeth broke.

"Your daughter? Who is this daughter you speak of? Last time I recall I was a failure that you refused to associate with and you disowned me! I am no daughter of yours. Not anymore." Annabeth knew her words hurt her mother, but she was still angry.

"It doesn't matter that I have offered sacrifices up to you since I was seven! It doesn't matter that I helped save Thalia and this camp! You must have been absolutely mortified when I discovered how to control the Labyrinth and Daedalus granted ME his computer! Or how about that time that I helped take down Kronos or held the entire SKY? You know what I think must have disappointed you the most though? The fact that I was able to find and return your statue and didn't die in the process. I have fought through Tartarus. I closed the Doors of Death. Both of which are things that you haven't dared to approach! Yet I am named "failure." I wasn't good enough to be your daughter then so you have no right to claim me as your daughter now."

Athena's eyes glistened and she tried to speak a couple times before she croaked out "Your pride does not become you Annabeth."

"My pride is my hubris, but perhaps it wouldn't be if you had bothered to acknowledge me." Annabeth stopped, still physically exhausted from sex with Percy and now emotionally exhausted from letting 16 years of frustrations out all at once.

"It's time to kill the boy." Zeus, always the charmer.

"Please brother. I never demanded the death of Heracles when it was obvious his powers were too great for a mortal. Please do not repay me like this."

Athena added "Zeus. Perhaps you could offer the boy immortality as you did with Heracles."

"I have already offered him immortality and he refused."

"He refused because of me. He would never accept immortality if it meant being without me. If you think I'm wrong then tell me why he willingly followed me into Tartarus?" She could see Zeus considering it. "Perhaps if you made us both immortal, he would accept."

"You ask too much."

"Then kill us both. Send us to Elysium. We deserve at least that much."

"This is something that will require great discussion young demigod."

Percy began to stir from his nap. Poseidon joined Zeus, Athena, and Aphrodite to discuss Percy and Annabeth's fate. Annabeth turned from the gods, dropped riptide, and rushed to Percy's side to tell him their current predicament.

At least she was sure that she'd be with Percy whatever the gods decided. She handed him clothes as she spoke and when she got to the part about Elysium he was fully clothed.

He took her hands and looked her in the eyes "Don't go with me." Annabeth wanted to protest, but Percy kept talking. "Don't die with me. Don't live forever with me. Neither of those options would make you happy." Annabeth began to cry again. Silent tears rolled down her face as he spoke. "If they grant us immortality they'll assign us awful jobs and they'll keep us apart for eternity. I don't want to live like that and I REALLY don't want you to have to live like that. So please live your life. Then die. Elysium is no good either. We both want kids. Living an eternity together with our sanity is wonderful, but we'd go mad continually wishing for the children we could have, should have. The only option I want is for you to live your full mortal life and then die. Please fill it with happiness in my absence." With that he walked out of his cabin and over to the gods who had begun to argue.

He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Annabeth has explained the situation to me. I know what I want."

"Who said that you have a choice in the matter?" snarked Zeus

"It's my life. Ultimately it is my decision regardless of what you want." He paused to let his words sink in and continued "I want to die. Let me live out my life as a mortal with Annabeth or kill me now." He could hear Annabeth crying and his heart ached for her. Making her live while he died was the worst thing he'd ever do. "I have done nothing, but serve you despite your lack of cooperation and interest in the affairs of the mortal world that wish to destroy you. Please consider this in your decision." Poseidon looked at his son and wished more than anything to keep him safe from his family. "I elect to follow the path that you lay before me. Oh and Aphrodite if I am to die can you please ensure that Annabeth will find someone else to love and cherish her. I don't want her to be alone." Aphrodite nodded and the young hero retreated back to Annabeth to say goodbye. He was sure that Zeus would not allow him to live.

Minutes turned into hours as the sun set and the day became night. The gods still talked and Percy held Annabeth close to his heart fearing the peace would break at any moment and he'd be sentenced to death.

The gods left Camp Half-Blood without revealing their judgment.

Annabeth assumed that meant they had decided to let Percy live out his life. Percy wasn't so sure and figured they were merely continuing their discussion at the Empire State Building/ Mount Olympus. Annabeth didn't even consider that option as she practically dragged Percy to dinner where there was a surprise birthday party waiting for him. Most of the campers weren't in the mood to be around Percy, much less party with him, but Annabeth was determined to be happy and it was very infectious.

Once dinner had finished it was time to cut the cake. It was a giant blue sheet cake made to look like the ocean with purple and orange lettering reading "Happy Birthday Percy." As the birthday boy Percy was charged with cutting the cake. So he did. He cut it in half and dumped the better looking half into the fire as a sacrifice to the gods. Percy prayed harder than he'd ever prayed. "Please let me live. Please don't take me away from her." He repeated it a couple times to make sure they got his message and turned to stunned campers who had been looking forward to stuffing their mouths with cake.

Coach went to yell at Percy for wasting so much perfectly good cake, but Chiron put his hand on his shoulder and nodded to Percy as though he'd made the right decision. He cut and served the rest of the cake and simply shared a piece with Annabeth because she was making a fuss over the fact that he didn't save any for himself.

Then they gathered around the camp fire for stories, sing-alongs, and dancing with music provided by the Hephaestus cabin. He spent the night in Annabeth's arms. Never letting her go. After the party they went back to Percy's cabin where they curled up and fell asleep.

Percy's dreams were filled with images of the underworld and monsters that he'd faced in Tartarus with Annabeth. He woke with a start when a Cyclops bit him in half. He relaxed when he saw that Annabeth was still in his arms and he was safe in his cabin, but something felt wrong. There was someone outside. He crawled out of bed, grabbed riptide and turned the corner of his cabin ready to attack. He found Hermes was waiting for him.

"Woah there!"

"Sorry. It's been another rough birthday."

"I'm sorry." Hermes paused like he didn't want to say anymore and just leave. George and Martha started bickering while Hermes tried to find the right words.

"Got a rat for me yet boy?" cried George

"Oh George!" Martha scolded him lightly

Just then Percy saw a rat scuttle behind Hermes so he threw his sword, piercing it. "Yeah George." He went and picked up riptide with the rat on the end. "Here you go."

"Nice shot!" he proclaimed as he slithered off Hermes' staff and towards the rat. "Sure we can't keep him boss?"

"George!" snapped Martha.

Percy's eyes hallowed out. They hadn't convinced Zeus to let him live. Percy had to die. He had to leave Annabeth. He looked up to Hermes for conformation before he did anything rash. Hermes was still trying to find the right phrase and didn't see Percy's silent question.

"You're here to tell me what they decided." A nod.

Percy was angry. "They decided that despite my unwavering loyalty, after everything I have given to them that I still need to die." Another nod. He let go of his anger. He let go of everything.

That was it.

He wanted to go back into the cabin and kiss Annabeth one more time, but he knew that if he went in he'd never leave.

"Hermes?"

"Yes Percy?"

"Can you make sure that she isn't the first to find my body?"

Hermes gave Percy a curt nod and his eyes began to shine as he knew what he was about to witness.

Percy turned riptide over in his hands. "You've been a good sword. Always right where I needed you to be." He faced the point to his gut and pressed.

He began to shake from pain, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough to kill him. He jerked the sword up through his torso.

That should be enough.

He turned to Hermes. "Remind Aphrodite that… that she promised." It was getting hard to breathe now that he could look down and see his lungs. "She promised she'd be happy." Little black dots covered his eyes until he couldn't see. He thought of the first time he met Grover, his first day at Camp Half-Blood, his first quest, his mother and her blue comfort food, Thalia and Nico and Bianca, Jason and Piper, Leo, Hazel and Frank, and quesadilla Tuesdays. He had probably one breath left so he sighed out the most important word in his life: "Annabeth." And with that Percy Jackson died.

George swallowed the rat while Martha slithered to the ground, removed riptide from Percy's chest, and positioned him like the heroes of old. When she was done she returned to Hermes and said "He was good."

"Yes Martha. He was good. Too good."

The sea erupted behind Hermes as he went to find Chiron and notify him that Percy Jackson died.


End file.
